The Josh Allen era has already given Buffalo more sustained success than the franchise had seen in decades. Since Allen arrived in 2018, the Bills have become yearly Super Bowl contenders, won multiple AFC East titles, reached two AFC Championship Games, and watched their quarterback grow into one of the best players in football. In Buffalo, though, that still hasn’t been enough.
That’s the standard Allen created. Once he reached MVP-caliber status, division titles stopped feeling like milestones and playoff trips became the baseline. Every season has turned into the same question: can this finally be the year the Bills win a Super Bowl?
And along the way, there have been a handful of moments that make you stop and wonder how different everything might look if one bounce, one decision, or one game had gone another way.
- What if Josh Allen Never Took "The Leap" in 2020?
It’s easy to look back now and forget how unsettled the conversation around Allen was after his first two seasons. He flashed big-time ability, but his accuracy was a constant talking point. There were real questions about whether Buffalo had found a franchise quarterback or just a spectacular athlete who might never become a steady passer.
Then 2020 happened.
Allen piled up 4,544 passing yards and 37 touchdowns, completed nearly 70 percent of his throws, finished second in MVP voting, and led Buffalo to its first AFC Championship Game since the 1993 season. That was the moment the Bills stopped being a feel-good story and started looking like one of the league’s top teams.
If that jump never comes, the whole arc of the Allen era changes.
- What if the Bills Never Traded for Stefon Diggs?
Allen’s breakout season and the arrival of Stefon Diggs are tied together for a reason. The trade instantly changed Buffalo’s offense. Diggs gave Allen a true No. 1 target, a receiver who could win one-on-one matchups and lift the passing game around him.
The connection clicked right away, and the two quickly became one of the NFL’s most productive quarterback-receiver pairings.
Would Allen still have become an MVP candidate without Diggs? Maybe.
But it’s tough to picture that growth happening as fast without one of the league’s best route runners lining up on the other side. The trade didn’t just help the offense. It sped up Allen’s development and raised the ceiling for the entire franchise almost immediately.
- What if Sean McDermott Had Been Fired After 2024?
This one still hangs over the fan base.
After another postseason disappointment in 2024, capped by another AFC title game loss to Kansas City, there were plenty of calls for Buffalo to move on from Sean McDermott. The argument wasn’t that he was a bad coach. It was that maybe the Bills had already reached their limit with him.
The organization stayed with him, and McDermott returned for the 2025 season before ultimately being fired after yet another crushing playoff loss, with Joe Brady taking over.
Would making that change a year earlier have altered the path? Could the Bills have landed a new voice like Ben Johnson or Liam Coen to push Allen and the offense even further? Or would a coaching change have shaken one of the NFL’s most stable winners?
There’s no way to know, and that’s what makes it such a major fork in the road for this era.
- What if the Bills Had Beaten Kansas City in the 2020 AFC Championship Game?
The “13 Seconds” game gets the headlines, but Buffalo was already one win from the Super Bowl in Allen’s breakout year.
A road win over Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in Arrowhead was always going to be a massive ask. Still, if the Bills had pulled it off, Allen would have reached the Super Bowl in just his third NFL season.
That changes everything.
The pressure and the endless questions about whether he could ever get Buffalo over the top would have looked very different. Instead, the Bills lost a game they led 9-0 in, Kansas City moved on, and Buffalo spent the next several seasons trying to get back to that spot.
- What if the Bills Survived the "13 Seconds" Game?
There was no other choice for the top spot.
Allen turned in one of the greatest playoff performances in NFL history, throwing for 329 yards and four touchdowns and putting Buffalo ahead with just 13 seconds left. For a moment, it felt like the Bills had finally broken through.
Then came the Chiefs’ drive into field goal range after a very questionable kicking decision, the overtime coin toss, and the end of Buffalo’s season.
It’s impossible not to ask what happens if Kansas City never gets into field-goal range. What if Buffalo doesn’t play prevent defense?
Do the Bills beat Cincinnati in the AFC Championship Game? Do they win the Super Bowl? Does Allen already have a championship ring, and does that change every conversation about his legacy?
Instead, “13 Seconds” became one of the defining moments of Allen’s career and Bills history. It’s the game every fan wishes they could run back.
In Other News...
Bills Added A Receiver With A Wild Old Highmark Connection
The Bills added another name to their wide receiver mix on July 14, claiming Quentin Skinner off waivers from the Jets and moving on from Deven Thompkins to clear a spot. Skinner is still early in his NFL journey after making his debut with New York last season, and he arrives in Buffalo with a college background that included four seasons at Kansas.
For the Bills, the move is less about a finished product than about adding another body to a crowded camp competition. Buffalo is carrying 14 receivers on the 90-man roster, so Skinner will have to carve out his place quickly once training camp gets rolling, especially with the group already packed with players vying for attention. [Read more 🡒]
Stephen A. Smith Just Gave Josh Allen The Respect Bills Fans Wanted
Josh Allen has been getting plenty of national attention lately, and not just because of the way he has carried the Bills. Jeremy Fowlers recent quarterback rankings put Allen at the top of the league, and Stephen A. Smith followed that line of thinking on First Take, backing the Buffalo star as the best quarterback in football right now. For Bills fans, it is the kind of recognition they have long argued Allen deserved, especially after his 2024 MVP season.
The bigger point for Buffalo is what comes next. Allen has reached this level while the offense has continued to evolve, with Joe Brady now in place as head coach and DJ Moore added as a new receiver to help raise the ceiling even higher. Smiths praise also reflects how the conversation around Allen has shifted from potential to standing, and the only real debate left is whether he can keep that perch when the biggest matchups arrive. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Starting O-Line Suddenly Has A Job Fans Cant Ignore
Alec Anderson is back with the Bills on a one-year deal, and his return gives Buffalo a familiar name in the mix for the open left guard spot left behind by David Edwards. The move keeps Anderson in the conversation as the line starts to take shape, but it also puts him in the middle of a competition that is far from settled.
Austin Corbett gives the Bills another experienced option with his own hopes of claiming a starting role, while Nick Broeker and Ar'maj Reed-Adams are also trying to carve out roster spots up front. Anderson may look like the early favorite, but training camp is going to decide whether that edge turns into the job or just another battle on a line still sorting itself out. [Read more 🡒]